A political analyst has told Radio Goftogoo that the Iraqi Government must recognize the right to the protest of its citizens.
Expert of West Asian politics Ferdowsipour had joined our “Rooydad” show where the result of the Iraqi Parliamentary Elections and the following protests was being discussed.
“Early elections took place for the first time after the collapse of the Saddam Regime.”
He said that in the current round of elections we faced two or three major developments. Amid an increase in the number of constituencies from eighteen to eighty three, partisan and tribal voting was replaced by vote to the individuals; In the fifth round of Parliamentary Elections, seats for female candidates saw a growth, while 25 more seats were specified for women and minorities.
Ferdowsipour also added that we could expect any final result from an early elections saying: “The vote counting process was done electronically; thus, the Hackers and intruders got a passage for their activities which influenced the result.”
He said that the preliminary results were announced within 48 hours of the voting which was protested by most of the Iraqi parties. The UN, US and few Arab countries of the Persian Gulf recognized the results which were further protested by the Iraqis. “It seemed that some backstage activities were going on to cover up the true results.”
Ferdowsipour continued that a trans-partisan pressure started to develop against the published data. As a result the protesters poured down to the streets and blocked the entrances to the Green Zone where all the Headquarters of the Iraqi organizations and foreign missions are located.
“The votes were counted manually on last Friday which changed some of the results; for example, Sadr Party lost two seats and the State of Law Coalition saw their seats increased to 339. The crisis turned into a clash between the protesters and the security forces which resulted in death of three ordinary citizens while 125 were injured.”
Ferdowsipour called peaceful protest a right which the Iraqis can’t be deprived of, by saying: “The Government must respect the right to protest of its citizens while conduct a free and fair elections which is also recognized by the civil societies of Iraq.”
